The scintigraphic prediction of residual lung function after lobectomy in patients with bronchial carcinoma

The scintigraphic prediction of residual pulmonary function after pneumonectomy has been validated in a number of studies while scintigraphy is not standardized in case of lobectomy. This study was aimed at investigating the accuracy of the scintigraphic prediction of post-lobectomy lung function using Wernly method. We examined 43 patients with bronchial carcinoma: 20 of them underwent pneumonectomy and 23 underwent lobectomy. The pulmonary function data (vital capacity, CV, and forced expiratory volume in one second, VEMS) predicted by quantitative lung scan were compared with those observed in the postoperative follow-up. A good correlation between predicted and observed data was obtained in both the pneumonectomized group (r = 0.77 and 0.78 for CV and VEMS, respectively; p < 0.005) and the lobectomized group (r = 0.74 and 0.79 for CV and VEMS, respectively: p < 0.005). It can be concluded that the method used for the scintigraphy prediction of post-lobectomy pulmonary function is as accurate as the post-pneumonectomy method and can be used reliably in the clinical practice.